GS Distress: Infamous
by Mirai Gensao
Summary: Ash, Misty, & Tracey return from the Orange Islands, GS Ball in tow. Upon arrival, however, Ash is sucked into a plot beyond his control. What does this new girl and the leader of Team Rocket have to do with anything & how are they connected to his past?
1. Part One

Alright folks, after almost nine years since the original publication date, I have finished the revision to this story. I started getting back into Pokemon over this past summer (2010) while on vacation with nothing to do but get lost in nostalgia and my childhood. It is not a complete rewrite. Rather, I added more exposition and changed the plot around so it made more sense. The dialogue also took some heavy editing as well in some places. I hope this is more in-character and more enjoyable than the previous version. If you read this and like it, feel free to review. I don't expect this to be the greatest fic ever, just to be a better job of something I did a long time ago. I am currently redoing its sequel and then the last part in the series. Following this, I will post the next series in this long tale that my friend and I wrote dealing with Pokemon (and Zelda: Ocarina of Time), which I am also revising. I'm trying to get this done before I graduate university finally (in June so it probably won't happen, but I shall try).

Without further adieu, onto the story...

* * *

**GS Distress: Infamous**

Ash, Misty and Tracey continue walking through Pallet Town on this bright and sunny, almost perfect day after having just arrived from the Orange Archipelago. Though it was a nice journey and sort of a vacation, Ash is glad to be back home and to see his mother. On the way into town, they even ran into his Pidgeot, who was glad to see his trainer. The two were reunited, and Pidgeot was once again added to Ash's team as the problem with the Spearows had been resolved. The other bird Pokémon learned how to defend themselves against the attackers and were doing quite well now.

Tracey, on the other hand, is excited about meeting Professor Oak, his long-time idol and the one who he wants to model his watching career after, even though the older man is a researcher. Tracey has always felt when he watches and draws Pokémon, he is doing research on them as well, recording them in their natural habitat and collecting data for other people. Misty is glad to be back as well because, even though this place is not her own home, Mrs. Ketchum is always so welcoming and makes it feel that way every time she stays there. Best of all, this home does not have her annoying older sisters. Misty only hopes that Daisy has not been giving out badges in her absence.

This nice, quiet little walk, however, is soon interrupted when Gary appears on the road in front of them, coming from the direction of the laboratory where his grandfather does all of his work. He had heard Ash was coming back and was not about to let the opportunity pass him up to see how his rival has improved. Normally Gary would be the first one to make snide comments to the boy, but his loss so early on at the Indigo League humbled him a bit. Still, he does like to tease Ash.

"Hey, it's Ashy-boy, back from the Orange League with his girlfriend. Where's that squinty-eyed guy?" Surprising all there, the pair referred to as a couple do not protest as loudly as they possibly can.

"What do you want, Gary?" Ash grumbles.

"Hi, I'm Tracey," the watcher interjects, hoping to diffuse the situation. "You must be Gary Oak. I'm a big fan of your grandfather. I was hoping to meet him."

"Are you a Pokémon trainer?" he asks Tracey, forgetting about Ash for the time, which is fine with all involved (except Ash).

"No, I'm a Pokémon watcher."

"Really? You know, I think your name is familiar now that you say that."

"Some of my sketches have been published in a few small journals as companion pieces to more distinguished researchers' work. I'm surprised you would be interested in reading them. They're mostly for academic types."

"Actually, I've been really interested lately in what my grandpa does. But that doesn't mean that I'm not still going to the number one trainer in the world." With his smirk, he looks back at Ash, who clenches his fists at his sides. "So how about it, Ash? You up for a battle? I'd like to see how the champion of the Orange League has improved."

"Of course! How many Pokémon?"

"How about one-on-one?"

"Fine with me. Go, Pikachu!"

"Pika!" Pikachu jumps in front of Ash, and Misty steps behind him to be his one-girl silent cheering squad. Gary steps back a few feet for more space, and Tracey moves to be half way in between both to act as referee. Gary sends out Eevee, which Misty squeals about as it is 'so cute.'

Both boys stare the other down as Tracey announces the standard rules. Pikachu cannot wait to get out there and help his master win against his rival finally. This is not to mention he wants to test himself and see how much he has improved thanks to his time in the Orange Islands. Togepi starts to cheer for Pikachu as Tracey gets ready to give the starts signal. The tension and anticipation cannot practically be felt by everyone there…

Unfortunately, though, a sudden ringing from a device on Gary's wrist interrupts things. Ash, kind of irritated he would be taking a phone call instead of battling, glares.

"What's the deal, Gary? We haven't even started yet!" Ignoring him, Gary looks at the device on his right arm and reads what it says. His expression doesn't change, which confuses all of them.

"We'll have to settle this another time, Ashy-boy. I have to take care of something." With that, he calls back his Pokémon and takes off full speed in the opposite direction of his home and grandfather's lab. Ash stands there with his mouth open.

"Pi?" Tracey comes back over to the pair.

"I wonder what that was all about," he says aloud.

"I know what that was about," Ash proclaims. "He knew I would beat him so he took off instead of letting me embarrass him. Can't say I don't blame him." Misty just smacks him upside the head, and he rubs his new sore spot.

"Let's just go see Professor Oak already. He's been waiting for the GS Ball, you know." The boys agree, and the three humans plus their Pokémon partners continue on, pretty much brushing off Gary's odd behavior.

Soon enough they arrive at the doorstep of the lab, and Ash goes right on in, followed by the others. Tracey takes the time to look around as they search out the professor. This place is most impressive, and he would love to study here someday. It has always been a dream of his to work somewhere like this eventually. Ash and Misty, who are accustomed to everything, do not stare around as awestruck as their newest friend. The watcher barely holds himself back from drooling as he follows along behind them.

When they finally locate the older man upstairs, he is on his computer reading something that has all of his attention.

"Professor Oak, we're here!" Ash announces cheerfully. With a jump, he turns around in his chair and sees the trio.

"Ash, you startled me. I wasn't expecting you so soon."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know how you always get sidetracked, like competing in the Orange League and then having to save the world from the three mystical birds and that collector." Ash thinks about it and scratches behind his neck with a chuckle.

"I guess you're right. But we did finally bring this to you." He reaches into his jacket pocket, pulls out the fabled ball, and hands it over to the anxious professor. He holds it close to his face, scrutinizing every last detail.

"So this is the GS Ball…" After a few more seconds of this silence, he walks over and puts it in a plastic dome to study later in much more detail. Tracey, though, is speechless at finally being in the presence of his idol. Though they have met over the video phone and saw each other briefly after Ash saved the world, it was not the same. Everyone was so focused on Ash and the fact that world was now safe again that he didn't even get to mutter more than a hi to the man. Then they all parted ways rather quickly. Oak smiles and looks at Tracey once he realizes this.

"Hello, Tracey. It's nice to finally meet you in person without the world almost having been destroyed first." He holds his hand out, and an awestruck Tracey takes it.

"Nice to meet you, too, Professor Oak." He then starts to question the professor about Pokémon and his current studies, leaving poor Ash and Misty to back off and wait for Tracey to stop drooling. This takes a few long minutes.

When they are done talking, Professor Oak decides to address Ash and ask him more about his time on the islands. After all, it was huge news here in Pallet when he was announced champion of the Orange League. No matter how pressing the GS Ball business is, he wants to find out as much as possible from the trainer no one thought stood a chance the morning he slept in and almost missed the most important beginning of his life so far.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jessie, James, and Meowth are looking through a window on the roof. Our (not so) favorite villains have of course followed the twerps from the islands back here to the mainland, still after Pikachu and now that mysterious ball. They don't know exactly what it is, but it must be valuable. Surely the boss would be able to do something with it, and they would be handsomely rewarded for bringing it to him.

"There they are!" James points below them.

"Alright! Let's steal Pikachu!"-Meowth

"Don't forget that weird ball. It has to be worth a fortune."-Jessie

"Let's sneak in."-Meowth

"Good ide-ahhh!" The window breaks suddenly, and they all fall to the floor in front of the ones they were spying on. Jessie staggers up, broken chunks of glass in her long hair and scratches on her face.

"Prepare…for trouble…"

"Yes and make it double…"

"Not now, Team Rocket. We're busy. Can't you come back after we've had a little time to rest?" Ash asks them, the annoyance in his voice visible on the others' faces.

"How dare you interrupt the Team Rocket motto!"-Jessie

"Just get da ball, you idiots!"

"We were getting to that, Meowth."-James. The two then send out their trusted Pokémon.

"Weezing, smog attack!" Toxic gas fills the room, and they all begin to cough and cover their faces with their arms.

"Pidgeot, I choose you!" With his free hand, Ash throws a ball forward, and his trusted bird Pokémon appears, ready to fight. "Blow the gas away!"

"Geot!" His powerful wings begin to flap quickly, and the gas is pushed towards the large open window where much of it begins to escape. Despite his valiant efforts, though, by the time the smoke has cleared enough, Team Rocket is gone along with the GS Ball.

"We need to get that ball back!" Ash exclaims. "Come on, guys!" He runs out of the lab with the other two hot on his trail and Pidgeot close behind.

* * *

Up above them in the sky, Jessie, James and Meowth are floating in their Meowth balloon, reveling in their apparent success. The ball is so shiny it has all of their attentions.

"We finally stole somethin', guys. What do ya know?"-Meowth

"Let's open it," James suggests.

"Let's celebrate first."-Jessie

"How? We have no money," Meowth questions her.

"Good point." They all get sad.

"Wait. We can always try stealing something. We got that ball, didn't we?"-James

"Gettin' dat ball was pure luck. We're lucky those kids didn't mess up our plans for once." They both glare at the cat but concede he's right. Despite their goal of catching Ash's Piakchu, every time they try any plan, the twerps thwart it one way or another. So far the string of failures has yet to make them completely give up, though.

"Why don't we get a little further away before we celebrate?" James suggests. "That way the twerps have less of a chance of catching us."

"That's a good idea, James," she agrees with him. The humans take a seat in the basket while Meowth lets himself get lost in delusions of grandeur.

"Once we give da Boss da rare Pokémon dat's in da ball, I'll be top cat again."

"Meowth, you were never top cat."-James

"He can't hear you. He's in his little fantasy land."-Jessie

"You're right." They both sigh and keep floating along.

What the three of them do not realize is that Pidgeot was sent by Ash to scout ahead in hopes of spotting the airborne trio of wannabe thieves. And spot them he does. Instead of going back to let Ash know, Pidgeot uses wing attack to knock them out of the air. The Pokémon is indeed a smart one, but it did not foresee the balloon merely bursting and then spiraling away in an uncontrolled spin. Pidgeot sweatdrops and then turns away to head back to Ash. Well, at least they will be easier to get to on the ground where ever they end up.

Ash, Misty, and Tracey continue to walk down the street, looking for any sign of them. So far their search has come up empty (unlike a certain bird Pokémon), and Misty is starting to get impatient, taking her anger out on poor Ash as usual.

"If it wasn't for you competing in that stupid Orange League, we wouldn't be here! I told you we should have come back sooner!"-Misty

"But I needed to practice!"-Ash

"That's true."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what it means!"

"Well, how would coming back early have stopped Team Rocket from stealing the ball?" She doesn't answer because he has a valid point.

"Will you two stop arguing? We need to focus on finding Team Rocket."-Tracey. They both turn and glare at him, and he backs away a little. Then all of a sudden out of nowhere, Team Rocket falls on Ash and Pikachu. Pidgeot swoops down and lands next to Tracey.

"Are you okay?"-Misty

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ash says, rubbing his head.

"I was talking to Pikachu!" He looks a little hurt. Then they all realize something at the same time.

"Hey, it's Team Rocket!"-twerps

"Dat's right!"

"Give us back the GS Ball!" Ash demands.

"Why should we?"-Jessie. "We stole it fair and square." To make things worse, Jigglypuff is suddenly on the scene. No one knows how it managed to finds its way back from the islands, but they don't worry about that as much as they do about what happens every time it tries to sing. It hops in front of them.

"Oh, no! It's Jigglypuff!"-Ash. Before anyone can do anything, it starts to sing its melodic and entrancing song. The poor thing has yet to find the one who can stay awake through the entire thing, but it tries nonetheless, unfortunately for everyone else.

"Jigg-ly-puff, jiggly-y-y-puff. Jigglypuff, jiggly…"

"Run…away…" Ash mutters feebly. Tracey slumps to the ground, and Team Rocket falls asleep next to each other. Ash and Misty fall asleep leaning on each other, a pose they seem to favor when this sort of thing happens.

Only a few minutes later (the shortest time they have ever been asleep thanks to the pink balloon) they all wake up. Ash stands up and points at Team Rocket, who are rubbing the sleep goobers from their eyes. The fight resumes as if it was never interrupted.

"Give us the GS Ball!"

"No way, kid! Go, Arbok!"

"Go, Weezing!" Ash and gang send out their Pokémon.

"Go, Pikachu!"

"Go, Marill!"

"Go, Poliwag!" Then Meowth jumps in as well to make things fair. Jessie and James see how Ash and his friends are so into the battle, they don't even notice what they do. They decide to leave Arbok, Weezing, and Meowth behind for now and escape with the ball. Ash sees what they are doing, however.

"Hey, you guys aren't leaving yet!" He jumps on them, and they tumble down a foresty hill, elbows and knees flying in a cloud of dust.

Finally they land at the bottom with a thud. They stay sprawled out for only a few seconds. Ash leaps up and toward them.

"Give me the GS Ball!"

"Forget it, brat! Arbok, go!" It doesn't appear. "Oh yeah, I forgot. We left them behind."

Suddenly, the ball rolls down in front of them. Apparently it came out of where ever she was keeping it and followed them down the hill. The three of them look at the ball, then at each other. Next thing they know they are in another cloud of dust. Jessie escapes and crawls after the ball.

"Got it!"-Jessie. Ash tackles her.

"No, I got it!"

"Give it to me!"-James. They claw and scratch each other some more.

While they are on the floor making a lot of hissing sounds and grunts with each landed attack, the GS Ball flies through the air and lands on the ground again. They stop and stare at the ball as it slowly opens, Jessie somehow on top of James while Ash is right next to them on his back. Misty and Tracey finally make it down with Pikachu and the other Pokémon. Quickly their attention is on the ball as well. A red light beam pops out, and a Pokémon materializes. They all hold their breath…and a lavender, cat-like being floats there in confusion. It is a mystery to all that it has somehow opened, and no one realizes that the last person to touch it and accidentally press the button was Jessie.

"Wait, haven't I seen that Pokémon somewhere?" Jessie mutters aloud.

"Yeah, I've seen it, too," James agrees.

"But where?" they both ask.

As they search their brains for the answer that will never come since Mewtwo erased everyone's minds, Ash whips out his Pokédex.

"Mew, the psychic cat Pokémon. So rare that it is still said to be a mirage by many experts. Only a few people have seen it worldwide."

"My mother died searching for that Pokémon," Jessie says kind of quietly. James looks at her.

"I didn't know that, Jess." Meowth, too, is surprised.

"Wow! I have to sketch that!" Tracey says as he pulls out his notebook.

"Pi-pikachu (haven't I seen that Pokemon before)?"

"Yeah, but where?"-Ash. He and Misty wrack their brains now, too. Tracey is still excited because he can see Mew up close and get the sketch that will land him on the cover of one of the most prestigious journals. Pikachu stands up and walks over to it.

"Pi?"

"Mew."

"Ka?"

"Mew."

"Chu?"

"Mew."

"What are you talking about, Pikachu?" Ash asks him. Before the mouse Pokémon can answer, an Eyewitness News van pulls up. They were driving along when they saw the group of three tumble down the hill. The boy was obviously Ash Ketchum (he is a celebrity in his small hometown, especially after the Orange Islands adventure). And, as it has come to be widespread knowledge here, he was bringing back the GS Ball, which appeared to have been stolen by the thieves in white. When they leaned over the hill to look, they saw two more teens following and then a red flash. Quickly they realized this was an important story (plus it has also been a slow news day) and headed after them. A man in a suit jumps out, followed by a camera guy. They rush over to the group, camera rolling.

"Hi, I'm Harold Green."

"Uh, I'm Ash Ketchum."

"So, Ash, how does it feel to open the infamous GS Ball?"

"Hey, we opened that dumb ball!"-Jessie

"We're only interested in talking to people who the public actually cares about." They get mad and throw their Pokéballs at the guy. They smack him in the face.

"You ruined my makeup!" he yells as if he were Jessie. A makeup guy pops out of the van and powders his face with a giant pad before going back into the van. Mew uses psybeam and sends them blasting off again, sensing they are trouble. Besides, they were kind of annoying. And that red-haired young woman reminds Mew of someone from long ago, someone else who deserved to be blasted off. "Anyway, Ash, how do you feel?"

"Are we live?" he asks, looking into the camera kind of close.

"Yes. So tell the viewers. We're all anxious to know."

"Hi, Mom! Hi, Professor Oak!" Since Tracey and Misty want to be on TV too, they walk up next to Ash.

"And who are you?" He looks at Misty. "Oh, are you his girlfriend?"

"What?" they both exclaim as they turn red.

"I guess not. So, who are you?" Since they're both totally embarrassed, Tracey introduces them.

"I'm Tracey, and this is Misty. We're Ash's friends." Suddenly Mr. Green's cell phone goes off. When he looks to read the text message, he nearly jumps five feet in the air.

"Sorry, kid, but the story of the century just broke! You'll have to wait." Quickly he runs back to the van with his cameraman, and they take off, all the while anticipating catching on camera the definitive proof that moss **does** grow on the south side of some trees. The three watch them drive away, their mouths partially open in confusion about what just happened.

Ash looks at Mew, who flies over and pokes its face in his. Silence follows briefly before Mew rubs its cheek against Ash's, causing him to laugh as it tickles.

"Wow, Ash, I think Mew likes you," Tracey states the obvious, something he is well known for.

"What do you say, Mew? Do you want to go meet Professor Oak?" Mew makes a noise, and they all assume it is one of agreement. "Alright, why don't you get back in the GS Ball so no one makes a big deal?"

"Ash, we were just on TV. I'll be surprised if we aren't mobbed on the way back to the lab."

"You're right, Misty. We need to hurry." Mew gets back into the GS Ball, and they all head back to Professor Oak's lab as fast as they can.

Luckily, since the news did just break, no one says a word to them or even looks their way. The newsfeed was not live as one Mr. Green stated. They arrive back at the lab, only to find the professor has gone back to his computer.

"Professor, we got the GS Ball back," Ash announces loudly. Again this startles the man, but his expression brightens when he sees the ball.

"Good job, everyone. Now I can finally get to studying it. But if you all don't mind, I need some time alone. Besides, Ash, your mother is still waiting for you to come say hello."

"Can I help?" Tracey gathers his courage and asks.

"Why, sure you can, Tracey."

"Alright! Thanks, Professor Oak." Ash doesn't make a move to leave and instead nervously plays with his jacket, hoping the man takes the news well that they opened it.

"Um, Professor…we kind of accidentally opened the ball." Oak practically trips over his feet in shock.

"What?"

"Yeah…I was fighting Team Rocket, and then it opened, and a Mew popped out." Given the news, Ash waits for more of a reaction, but nothing comes. This confuses him and Misty both, but Tracey is too busy looking forward to helping his mentor.

"Really…this sure is a surprise. Tracey and I better get to studying it right away then. You two should go see your mother, Ash. Tell her I said hi." With that, he practically shoves them toward the door.

Taking the hint, Ash and Misty leave with Pikachu to give the two time to find out more about Mew and the ball. As much as he is looking forward to seeing his mom, he doesn't quite feel like going home yet (plus there will be the inevitable underwear comment, followed by a blush by him and maybe Misty). Something about today's weirdness is bothering him. Since they are not going to his house, there is nothing to do but wander around. They find somewhere and sit down in some shade. Pikachu and Togepi go off in search of ketchup. Ash lies back and looks at the clouds like a little kid while Misty just sits there next to him. Both are still trying to remember when and where they met Mew and if it actually happened or was some collective group dream.

"Do you remember seeing Mew before?" he asks.

"Yeah, but I can't remember where." Then Ash sits up and gets a bunch of flashbacks of Mew and some other Pokémon sending psychic blasts at each other. Pain follows, and he holds his head. Naturally this worries her.

"Ash, what's wrong?" The pictures disappear as quickly as they came, and he looks at her.

"What? Oh, nothing. I'm fine, Misty."

"Maybe we should go to your house now. I'm getting kind of hungry." Even though it is just an excuse because of her concern for him, she hopes he takes the bait of food.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Pikachu, come back, buddy!"

"You too, Togepi!" The two come bounding back sans ketchup. Just as they are all getting ready to get going, a strange girl walks by. Her shorts, which are short like Misty's, are a dark denim, and she sports a white button up short sleeve shirt. Her brown hair is short but curled up at the end, and her eyes match her hair. She looks at the two with the initial intent to just smile friendlily, but then she recognizes the Pokémon master in training. She stops.

"Aren't you Ash Ketchum?"

"Yeah. Who are you?" That makes her beam, and she clasps her hands together with starry eyes. Misty looks very much not pleased.

"Wow! I saw you on TV in the Indigo League and read about you in the paper! You're so cute! And you won the Orange League, too! You're so awesome!" Misty, who is getting jealous though she would never admit that, decides to interject.

"He asked you a question."

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Elizabeth, but my friends just call me Liz. My family just moved here last week. I can't believe I'm actually talking to _the_ Ash Ketchum!" She jumps up and down shaking his hand. After a few seconds, she stops and turns to Misty.

"You must be Misty. You're so lucky to have a guy like Ash."

"What do you mean?" Misty pretends to be confused while Ash actually is.

"Aren't you two together? I mean, in every picture, you're always by his side."

"No! We're just friends!"

"Oh." That seems to please her, and she looks at him again. "Sorry about that. But I was wondering something…"

"What?"

"How about we have a Pokémon battle? It would mean so much to test my skills against someone as good as you." Misty makes a face at that, not because she thinks Ash is a bad trainer but because this girl's obvious flirting she does not like. Of course, the first reason is what she likes to pretend outwardly. Ash does not see this and thus does not start an argument. Liz apparently does, though and only smiles a bit in her direction. It is not a friendly smile.

"Sure, that would be great!" He looks down at Pikachu, but Liz interrupts.

"Actually, I meant tonight, maybe after six."

"Why then?"

"My dad went to Viridian City on some business and took my Pokémon with him to be healed at the Pokémon Center there since Pallet doesn't have one. I didn't have any potions or anything to heal them myself. He'll be home around six. There's this nice empty lot behind the movie theater that would be perfect for battling. The lighting is good since it'll be getting dark, and there's plenty of space."

"Okay then, we'll battle tonight."

"Really?"

"Well, yeah. I need all the practice I can get."

"That's true…" Misty mumbles. Ash casts a sideways glance at her to glare.

"You don't have to get all jealous, Misty. Besides, he can battle whoever he wants and maybe hang out for a little bit after." Misty crosses her arms, able to do so since Togepi is still on the ground.

"I'm not jealous."

"Then what's your problem?"

"I don't have a problem. Ash can do whatever he wants."

"Well, you're acting like we're going to see a movie and sit in the back and make out the whole time." Misty turns red at the very idea, but Ash just looks clueless as he has no idea what making out means.

"I said I don't care what Ash does. Go ahead and hang out together. It doesn't matter to me." She walks off, leaving Ash to watch after her in confusion and concern. Togepi waddles after her, and she hastily picks him up before continuing on alone. Pikachu leaves his master in favor of Misty because he can sense that she needs him more at this second, even though his place is usually by Ash. Pikachu's behavior worries him as well.

"I think she's jealous, Ash," Liz interrupts his thoughts.

"But I don't get it."

"Maybe she wanted you to hang out with her tonight. I saw Professor Oak and some woman at the Xanadu Nursery a couple of days ago. They were talking about how you were coming home soon so I know this is your first day back. She probably just wanted to relax with her friends." Ash doesn't catch the plural of that word, something she shouldn't know as she has yet to meet Tracey. Of course, she could just be referring to seeing Brock with him and Misty when she saw him on TV.

"She'll be okay," he assures her (and himself) with his smile.

"Alright then. So, I'll meet you there at six-thirty."

"Where?"

"At the movie theater, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. I'll be there at seven." She narrows her eyes.

"I said six-thirty."

"Right. I'll be there at six-thirty." She perks right back up.

"Okay. Bye, Ash!" She waves and turns around to walk away. He waves and does the same.

* * *

Misty, still angry that Ash decided to go meet that new girl who asked him to do battle conveniently near a movie theater, practically stomps back to the Ketchum house. Ash will eventually follow, and this way she can be without him for a bit. That boy is so dense sometimes. If she didn't even like the idea of some girl he just met pecking him on the cheek and playfully inviting him to be part of some old ceremony, why would his apparent first date not bother her? (Granted a Pokémon battle near a movie theater does not seem like a date to him due to his density. Misty, by virtue of being a girl, could tell that Liz really wanted time alone with him.) That whole adventure with legendary bird Pokémon Ash seemed oblivious to how she reacted to the things Melody said and did, but Tracey knew. The Pokémon watcher has even made comments a few times. Hell, even Jessie, James, and Meowth saw what Ash was still too dense to understand. His best friend, the future master of water Pokémon, really really likes that trainer of a coveted Pikachu.

Just admitting that in her own head, though this is not the first time, angers her, more at herself than him. Boys usually take longer to mature that way, and knowing Ash, he will take even longer than that. At the same time, this kind of gives her some comfort. He's too naïve to see that Liz might perhaps want to get to know him better as more than friends. After all, they both are only twelve years old. Well, maybe Liz is a little older. Misty was never a great judge of age. Actually feeling a tad bit better, she stops her angry walking and looks ahead not with rage beaming from her eyes but the expression of one deeper in thought than they should be when wanting to avoid traps set by Team Rocket.

She continues to think, and after only a few more steps, Misty, with her Togepi and Ash's Pikachu, find themselves lying on the bottom of yet another pit. While they try to figure out what's going on, a large mesh net covers the hole. The cackling laughter of the trio of losers fills the air next, and Misty almost smacks her forehead. She should have known. This time they luckily skip the motto and get right to their plan as they slide into view.

"Let us go right now, Team Rocket!" Jessie smirks down at her.

"And just what makes you think you're in any position to demand something from us?" Pikachu takes the initiative and uses a thunderbolt to no avail. Both he and Misty realize that the net must be electricity proof, no doubt thanks to James or Meowth. The boys laugh this time, seeing their plan coming to fruition. Without the main twerp around, this should finally work out the way it's supposed to.

"Team Rocket! What are you doing?" And their hopes are soon dashed. Misty, Pikachu, and Togepi, though, are relieved to hear his voice.

"Ash, we're down here!" she calls out to him. Pikachu pipes up as well. Ash only grits his teeth and fingers his Pokéballs, wondering who he should bring out. A smirk crosses his lips as he thinks about his fire dragon who finally listens to his commands. Team Rocket's faces all fall when he calls out his Pokémon.

"Charizard, go!" He growls upon being released and lands with a loud thud in front of his trainer. Unlike their usual mode of operation, they don't call out their Pokémon, knowing the battle will be lost no problem against the large fire type. "Use your flamethrower!" All too happy to oblige, a swoop of fire overtakes the trio of once more failed villains. "Now get the net off of the hole!" He does this fairly quickly before scooping Misty up and allowing Pikachu onto his back, all the while Team Rocket twitches on the ground. Ash runs over to greet them all, liking to once more have Pikachu on his shoulder. "Misty, are you and Togepi okay?" While not mere moments ago she was fuming about him to herself, his concern and his once more playing the hero cast any lingering anger away. She smiles at him.

"We're fine, Ash. Thank you." He smiles back, glad that things are hopefully smoothed over. Next he turns to Charizard, thanking him for the help before recalling him to his ball and reattaching it to his belt.

"Let's get to my house then. A good battle always works up my appetite."

"Anything works up your appetite, Mister Pokémon Master." He only grins before taking off in a sprint. His eyes always hold a glimmer of mischief and innocence, something that is almost always endearing. Perhaps she can wait a little while longer for him to mature. She takes off as well, Togepi safe in her arms.

Meanwhile, the three members of Team Rocket continue to twitch, glad that for once they we weren't sent blasting off again.

* * *

Far away from the usually quiet town of Pallet, a man watches the television with great interest. At his side sits his trusty Persian, a Pokémon he has had since he was a young man and who has always been by his master. The broadcast is the brief interview Ash gave earlier, given to the station that one Mr. Green was working for after he realized that the moss thing wasn't going to pan out. The boy on the screen surrounded by his friends do not look like more than fifteen (the oldest boy) and twelve (the younger two). How could they have come across that ball when it was thought to be lost forever in the cold mountains of South America? Furthermore, how did a child open it with little effort?

Both thoughts are maddening. Now Professor Oak will have all of the time in the world to study it and learn its secrets, which just may link it back to here, to the organization that his mother spent so much time making successful. Then he himself took over and made it even better, pouring in even more time. It was not all without consequences, though. He did lose something that had once been very important to him, but that is how life goes sometimes. It was then that he learned he could control Pokémon all he wanted, but people were a different story.

Shaking his head to clear those thoughts, he turns the TV off. A trip to that quaint little town is now in order, especially if his most bumbling trio is there trying to get the ball. It lies there in the hands of someone to whom it does not belong, and there is something else he wouldn't mind doing. Who knows if he will bother once he gets there, but the chance exists. Quite a few times before he thought about taking one of his private jets and soaring down there to see about something, but he never did. The closest he got was building a secret base near there on the outskirts where no one would come looking. His visits were always too busy for any personal matters, though. Then his most prized experiment, the thing he was working on to finally end his mother's obsession and to show her he is more than just a 'brat boy', destroyed the entire facility. That was the last he ever saw of the creature

But this doesn't matter right now. With a smirk, he calls his companion before leaving the room, shutting the lights off on the way out.

* * *

End of part one...

I just want to note that _Mewtwo Returns_ has not happened yet as it is placed sometime in the Johto region series. Therefore, Giovanni does still remember the cloned psychic type. Also, I left some of the dumb humor in. When you're thirteen, a lot of things are funny that won't be years later, but I didn't want to edit that out. Gary's odd behavior will have an explanation eventually, just not in this story. It will be in the next one since it bears more relevance to that plot.

Also, I know in the anime Pallet always looks like a rural farm community, but I figured if they have a nursery and a restaurant (Delia's as mentioned in the Shudo novelizations), they can't be too underdeveloped. A movie theater is not so hard to believe, is it?


	2. Part Two

Part 2...

* * *

Ash and Misty soon close in on his house and slow down when they reach the gate. Mimey is in the yard trimming some bushes with a sun hat on when their footsteps reach his ears. He turns around and greets them right away, getting the same in return. Then right away he goes back to his task, leaving the other two to go inside. No one is visible at first as they remove their shoes, but a familiar face soon emerges from the kitchen. His squinting eyes stare back, a smile on his face. Ash and Misty, though, are surprised.

"Brock, what are you doing here?" they both ask.

"Hi to you guys, too," he answers somewhat sarcastically.

"But we thought you were staying with Professor Ivy," Ash queries further. Apparently this was a bad move, though. Brock turns around, crouches down, and hugs his knees.

"Don't mention that name!" Ash and Misty look at each other with confused expressions. Pikachu looks at his master as well and the back at Brock. The air is suddenly kind of weird so Ash goes on.

"So where's my mom?" Brock is suddenly standing back up like normal, his dramatic moment over.

"She went to grab some things to make for dinner since this is your first day back after winning the Orange League. By the way, congratulations, Ash."

"Thanks, Brock," he says sincerely.

"I just wish I could have been there to see it. I heard it was a great battle, but I was busy with…well, you know."

"So what exactly happened between you and Professor I-"

"That name!" Ash and Misty sweatdrop when they see him on the floor again.

"So, Brock, have you been home to Pewter City yet?" Misty tries to tactfully change the subject. Luckily, he bites and stands back up.

"No, I decided to stop here first. Professor Oak told me you guys were on your way back so I decided to wait for you and Ash." They take this in, both glad for his decision. Tracey is a really nice guy, but the three of them are the original trio, the unstoppable ones. "What about you, Misty? Are you going back to Cerulean to visit your sisters?" Ash looks at her suddenly, wondering what her answer will be. She can't leave, he reasons. Just when they get Brock back, she can't decide to go home. He never imagined her leaving his side, especially after this last adventure. Though he wanted to fulfill his chosen one destiny alone (because it was something he needed to do), she was still by his side. She pulled him from the water like when they first met. She cheered him on, even against Rudy, who clearly wanted her to stay more than anything he had wanted in a while. Misty looks at Ash's expression before glancing down at the floor.

"I hadn't thought about it." Seeing the way both preteens reacted to his comment, Brock decides to steer away from that topic.

"What about you, Ash? Have you decided where you'll go next?" That perks him up again now that his mind is back on training and working towards his goal.

"No, I was hoping I could ask Professor Oak."

"That's a good idea. I bet he'll know the region you should head to next." The group gets quiet for a second, but the growling of Ash's stomach quickly remedies that. He laughs nervously.

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot how hungry I am." Brock smiles at his younger pal.

"I figured you would be since it's between lunch and dinner now so I whipped a little something up." Both perk up at that.

"Really?" they ask together.

"We may have been apart, but I still know you both better than anyone."

"That's great! Tracey was a good cook and all, but I really missed your food."-Ash. He looks at his Pokémon pal. "Come on, Pikachu!"

"Pika!" The two run off into the kitchen while Misty and Brock follow behind them, all glad to once again be together.

* * *

For the rest of the afternoon, the three friends spend time catching up and relaxing in the living room of the Ketchum house. Ash's mother Delia arrives home only half an hour after they have all devoured Brock's cooking. Once she gets her fill of suffocating Ash with hugs, she leaves them be to start on the large dinner that everyone is invited to, including the professor, his grandson, and his apparent new assistant. Mr. Mime, of course, lends a hand willingly.

Soon enough (and lucky for Ash's stomach which seems sometimes to be perpetually hungry), dinnertime finally arrives. Professor Oak, Gary, and Tracey arrive at the doorstep just before five-thirty. Tracey and Brock introduce themselves to each other and immediately become new friends. Mr. Mime then ushers everyone into the kitchen, where the sight of the food on the table makes everyone's mouth go wide, especially when the smell hits their noses. Following some commotion, the group of seven finds the most comfortable way to organize the seats. The digging in commences, and praise is heaped onto both Mr. Mime and Delia, causing both to be a little bit embarrassed. The meal goes as planned, and they all enjoy some after dinner conversation as Mr. Mime cleans the table.

Eventually six o'clock rolls around, and the professor and his new assistant decide to head back to the lab to continue studying the infamous ball. Delia decides to go along with Mr. Mime to bring some leftovers for the older man who is apparently incapable of cooking a good meal. Little does Ash know his mom has pretty much been the main source of quality food for the one who gave him his first Pokémon ever since the two departed on his quest through Kanto. Gary, surprising everyone but the breeder, asks Brock if can have some tips on his Pokémon. Those two head back to Gary's house, which is separate from the Oak laboratory. This leaves Ash and Misty both alone and kind of confused at how Brock and Gary are getting along so well.

As the two stand and stare at anyone else but each other in the living room of his house, Pikachu suddenly starts tugging at his pant legs. His master then recalls the battle date he made with the girl they met earlier.

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. I have a battle tonight."

"Some master you'll be if you can't even remember your own scheduled battles," Misty mutters.

"Give me a break, Misty. I'm just really glad to be home again."

"No, you're just really forgetful."

"You never let up…" She glares at him, but he continues. "Well, you're at least going to come and cheer me on, right?"

"I'd rather watch your Snorlax take a nap."

"Fine. I don't need you anyway. Let's go, Pikachu." Ash turns and heads to the door, where he only stops to put his shoes on. The mouse Pokémon looks worriedly back at Misty before following Ash. Togepi waves his arms and cries out, but Misty only turns away from the door and storms toward the couch where she plans on watching TV and forgetting about Ash.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ash walks along with Pikachu next to him, contemplating his best friend's weird actions from both this afternoon and just a moment ago. Little does he realize he acted much the same way when both Danny and Rudy were in the equation. With Danny it was like Ash didn't even exists anymore, which hurt his feelings. He only acknowledges the friendship side to this since she had always been cheering him on, even when Brock cheered for someone else during one of his Indigo League matches. Actually, Misty got pretty angry at Brock for that. When it came to Rudy, it took her some time to decide if she would root for Ash or him. In the end she chose Ash, of course. As Rudy said, Ash is a very lucky guy who will hopefully someday find out what he meant. For now, he is just a confused preteen boy obsessed with Pokémon battles, badges, and being the best. Misty may pretend she is more mature than him, but she is also a confused preteen, and they will both remain that way no matter who tries to push them together.

Soon enough he makes it to the town's only movie theater. Most people think that Pallet is a tiny place with fields and country bumpkins, but it has slowly been growing. This includes the movie theater he can now see ahead of him, which was built about four years ago. Before he gets to the entrance, he spies the one he was coming to meet. Her outfit from earlier is gone, and in its place in a light yellow dress that is knee length with slightly puffy sleeves and a white sash around the middle. Even the dense Ash thinks this is odd attire for battling, but he doesn't worry about it as he walks up and stops in front of her.

"Hey, Ash," she says brightly. "I'm glad you're here."

"So am I. I can't wait to battle you. Neither can Pikachu, right buddy?"

"Pi-pikachu!"

"Actually, Ash, my father was delayed in Viridian so I don't have my Pokémon."

"We can just go to Professor Oak's, and you can call your dad and have him send through the transfer system."

"No!" she protests. Pikachu would raise an eyebrow if he had one, and Ash looks confused as has been his perpetual state today. Liz quickly tries to recapture her composure. "I mean why don't you and I go see a movie instead?"

"Well, actually-"

"Or we could just get an ice cream at the shop next door. I hear they have the best in town." The thought of dessert perks him up.

"Sure, that sounds great. Maybe we can battle tomorrow after your dad gets home."

"Oh, thank you for understanding, Ash," she says as she grabs his arm. He looks and feels awkward as she drags him along while his right arm, the free one, flails a little. Pikachu cocks his head to the left before chasing after the pair.

Five minutes later the two sit across from each other at a table using two of the four chairs. The umbrella overheard blocks the view of the setting sun, but it seems nice enough to the two of them. She is enjoying a cup with one scoop of mint chip and a cherry while he devours his cone with three scoops. Pikachu is also enjoying a cone with two scoops (who knew they made ketchup flavored ice cream?). The electric mouse sits atop the table, and the air is fairly quiet.

"So Ash," she suddenly starts. He pays attention but keeps licking his cone. "I saw the news when I got home earlier. Did you really open the GS Ball?" He answers yeah with a mouth full of the treat. While Misty would yell at him for his bad manners, she only finds it kind of cute. "Wow, that's amazing. I bet Professor Oak is studying it right now, isn't he? I would sure love to see it. Do you think you could take me to his lab?"

"Sure. I want to see if they figured anything out, too." This time his answer is more polite, but what he agreed to is what makes her ecstatic.

"Really? Oh, thank you, Ash! Do you think he would mind if we went over in a little bit?"

"Can I at least finish my ice cream?" She giggles.

"Of course." She herself takes another big spoonful, and he and Pikachu continue to munch away on theirs.

* * *

Little does the unsuspecting trio know, a certain red haired best friend of his decided she did want to support him in his battle and watch him crush that puny girl who reminds her somewhat of her sisters. She grew tired rather quickly of watching TV, especially when she saw that broadcast of Ash's interview on every channel she flipped through. A few of them were local networks, and as Pallet is so small, when one of their own does something noteworthy, they all celebrate and trumpet it. The other channels are a little more far reaching like the one the Team Rocket leader saw the news on earlier. By this time tomorrow it will probably spread through Kanto and then reach the other regions. It would not be surprising if they hear from She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named-Near-Brock by the morning.

As she walks down the small and quiet street with Togepi in her arms, she is expecting to come across them battling if she doesn't hear them before they are even in sight. What she is not prepared to see is the two of them eating dessert at a small ice cream shop. The jealousy she felt when Melody pecked him on the cheek was not as intense as the jealously that sweeps across her when she sees this. They look as if they are having a good time not battling. Misty can even hear her giggle all the way across the street, and she points at Ash's cheek. The trainer goes to wipe the ice cream off, but Liz beats him to it, leaving him to feel a little awkward once more, especially when she licks her finger. She giggles again at his expression and leans in to peck him on the cheek in the same spot she just wiped clean. Following a jaw drop, Misty's baby egg Pokémon falls to the ground as that surprises her more than seeing them on a quasi-date. Luckily Togepi curls up and rolls when he hits the sidewalk, escaping any serious injury. Though she realizes she has just dropped her precious baby egg, she hastily grabs Togepi and rushes across the street.

"What's going on here?" she demands from them angrily. The scene is reminiscent of one of the daytime drama shows Ash's mother secretly enjoys (when she isn't busy gardening, tending to her restaurant, or visiting Professor Oak). Ash and Liz look over along with Pikachu. "I thought you two were going to battle."

"My father has my Pokémon still, and he got stuck in Viridian City so I asked Ash if he wanted some ice cream. Calm down, Misty." Ash, who has seemingly gotten over his recent peck on the cheek, tries to smooth things over with Misty, especially since he has no idea he or she has done anything that should make her mad.

"Yeah, it's not a big deal, Misty. We're going to battle tomorrow instead."

"Figures. All you ever think about is Pokémon and food." He stands up, his right hand still clutching his treat.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"There's nothing wrong with focusing on Pokémon and food. Both happen to be very important," Liz interrupts. Misty now glares at her as well.

"Nobody asked you." Liz stands up, slamming her hands angrily on the table. Sparks fly between the girls' eyes, and Ash backs off a little bit.

"Pika!" The electric mouse jumps in between, and Togepi protests to the negative atmosphere along with him. The stand off remains for a grueling ten more seconds before the girls turn away from each other.

"Ash, can we go visit Professor Oak now?"

"Uh, sure, I guess." She then grabs his hand and her container to throw it away as they walk by the trash. He desperately tries to lick his some more, and Pikachu scampers after them. Misty stomps closely behind.

* * *

From across the street, a man normally clothed in orange watches the trio in curiosity. His Persian sits at his side, his keen eyes focused on what ever his master thinks is so interesting. The Rocket boss changed just before he left his gym into something less conspicuous: a black suit with a white long sleeved button shirt underneath. He has not worn that combo in a while, mostly opting to look as bright as possible in his usual orange, green, and yellow. That girl he knows the identity of. Her father was once a very trusted scientist on his mother's team until an incident forced him to quit. Then he lost his life. As for his daughter, the last Giovanni knew she had disappeared without a trace. There was no need to go after her as she was considered insignificant. The other girl, the loud orange haired one, he knows as the sister to the current Cerulean City gym leaders. Technically she is qualified to battle challengers and hand out badges, but she spends her time traveling with that trainer and his Pikachu. That boy, the one he saw on TV earlier, he knows as the one his most bumbling agents chase after. He lets them continue because they stay out of his hair for now as he focuses on other projects.

That child, however, reminds him of someone. He first thought that she may simply know of the boy since they came from the same town. Then when he heard the kid's last name, it removed all doubt that he is her son. Giovanni knew she settled back in Pallet, but he never knew why. He always told himself he didn't care about the reason or her. This place is so tiny he never understood how anyone could live here, let alone leave the luxury that he offered and move back. She offered no explanation for her sudden departure and never tried to contact him, and he never tried to find out. The thought makes him shudder, however. He finds it unsettling for some reason that she has made a quiet, modest life for her and her son.

The brash young woman he met was far from on her way to being a stay-at-home mother and wife. She was a researcher-in-training studying under the great Professor Oak along with a young man who would go on to become a great archaeologist. She disrupted his plans the way no one else had done before, climbing out of a pitfall that had been dug to catch various Pokémon in Viridian Forest. He was personally leading the team as his mother had not yet left him in control. It was always a battle with Madame Boss to show her he was competent and worthy of her love (though he never acknowledged openly to himself that that was what he was looking for). They had various traps set up, but the pitfalls were the most successful in this experiment of catching many all at once instead of trying to steal them.

Then a girl got stuck trying to help a Caterpie. Many females and even males avoided the place because it could be dark and scary, not to mention lots of people have an irrational fear of bug-types. But there she was, not even twenty and studying the interactions between bug and bird-type Pokémon alone in Viridian Forest with no one to call for back up or help. He, being older than her by a few years and having been forced to grow up on his own, thought she was hilariously stupid for confronting them. That day they came away from the forest with lots of Pokémon and a very stubborn, very naïve girl. It was the start of a time in his life he would never forget, no matter how hard he tried. His mother was not pleased he had picked up company in the form of a stupid girl, but she was too busy to care too much. It was nearing the time of her planned retirement, so she was trying to go out with a bang before leaving the organization to her son (though she often let him know she was building it up as much as possible to buffer any screw-ups he made).

He shakes this train of thought away. He did think he may want to pay her a visit since he was here, but now he feels it would be pointless. Instead, he needs to focus on what he did come here for- the GS Ball. His mother's missing prized possession is now so close, but the question of how to obtain it he has yet to answer for himself. He could do his own dirty work and sneak into the lab later that night. After all, he is the leader of the greatest crime syndicate in Kanto and Johto (and soon even Hoenn). Besides, when he was a field agent under his mother's command, he was one of the best, even if his mother never acknowledged it. He is the one who has expanded their grasp into two other regions and soon a third. After that, he is going to look to the islands south of here, the Sevii group and then the Orange Archipelago. Surely he can retrieve the ball with little incidence.

In the mean time, he decides to listen to his growling stomach and go get something to eat. One thing this small place is known for is the restaurant that is renowned for its quality.

* * *

Meanwhile, the other three walk along the path towards the Oak laboratory. The sun has almost completely set, and as this town lacks an adequate supply of street lights, it is getting dark quickly. Ash is now being dragged by his arm rather than hand (Liz felt it would anger Misty more if they linked arms, which worked as expected). The boy tried at first to wriggle out of her grasp, but it was fruitless so he stopped trying and is now just left feeling awkward. Pikachu trails behind with Misty, who is keeping her eyes glued to the pair. Togepi just goes along for the ride like normal.

"Why are you following us?" Liz finally asks.

"I'm not. I'm going to see Tracey and Professor Oak."

"Really? Are you sure you're not just jealous?"

"Who'd be jealous over Ash?" Liz stops abruptly, and Ash has no choice but to follow since they are attached. The water trainer is also forced to stop.

"If Ash annoys you so much, why don't you just go away instead of following us and yelling all of the time? I feel sorry for Ash having to listen to you all day."

"I'm only following Ash because he owes me a bike. As soon as he pays me back, he won't have to listen to me all day. Then I can finally work on becoming the best water Pokémon master."

"You, a Pokémon master? Don't make me laugh." By now, Ash has been able to get free. He takes a few steps in between them and tries to make space.

"Come on, guys. Why can't we all be friends?" Pikachu jumps on Ash's shoulder for support. He doesn't like it when Ash and Misty argue, and he doesn't know if he likes this new girl yet or not. Pokémon are more in tune with people's emotions than other people are. Something just seems to be a little off to him, but at the same time, he has to trust his master's instincts until he can tell for sure.

Suddenly an explosion off in the distance rocks the entire town. Ash, Misty, and Liz look in that direction along with two Pokémon.

"What was that?" Liz asks.

"I think that was near Professor Oak's lab!" Ash exclaims as he realizes this. Then he remembers all of his friends were going over. "My mom and the others are there!" He takes off with Pikachu, and the two girls follow closely.

* * *

Giovanni stops on his walk and looks in that same direction. Normally this would not concern him, but he has a feeling that blast is near Professor Oak's lab. He also knows that his two most fumbling agents are likely here since they are following the boy with the Pikachu (revealed as Ash to him earlier on that broadcast). For some reason he feels they are involved. He looks down at his Persian, who stares into his master's face. The unsaid command passes to the cat Pokémon, and the two take off the same as Ash's group. If those two idiots have somehow caused this and interfered in any way with him retrieving the GS Ball, then the least of their troubles will be getting fired.

* * *

End of part 2.

Alright, so in here I dropped an important plot point: Giovanni and Delia knew each other when they were younger. This was always planned, but the backstory of how it happened was not included in the original. I always had a sense of what happened, but I hammered out the details sitting in biology class last October. It _may_ resemble another work on this site that I have been reading. I do admit that reading that fic gave me inspiration to put down what happened, but it was never my intent to copy anyone else's ideas. If it doesn't come across that way, then I'm just begin paranoid. There's just nothing worse than someone taking your ideas and using them as their own so obviously.

Some things mentioned here come from novelizations by Takeshi Shudo (Delia having a restaurant) and radio drama CDs (origins of Team Rocket, Mew, Madame Boss, Miyamoto, etc.)

Thanks for reading.


	3. Part Three

Part 3...

* * *

Ash, Misty, and Liz arrive finally after what seems to them to be the longest run ever. From the bottom of the stairs they cannot see much, and it is a long climb (considering they all feel they need to help). Ash is about to take off again when he hears a voice call his name.

"Ash!" They turn around to see Gary and Brock heading straight for them. Judging by his tone and the look on his face, Gary is just as concerned about his grandfather as Ash is about his mom. He and Brock stop, and Brock takes a moment to survey Ash's new friend. For once his girl-radar does not propel him into his normal hormone-fueled mode. Instead, he gets a weird feeling form her that he cannot explain. This is pushed away for now. "Ash, do you know what's going on?"

"No, we just got here, too."

"Let's go check it out then. Professor Oak may need our help." They all agree with Brock and run up the long flight of stairs.

Right away when they reach the top, they see a smoke cloud coming from the back where the corral is. As they get closer to the cloud, they can see behind his lab, where it becomes apparent that the three heard the explosion also have come out. A minute or so before Ash and company finally got here, the good old Team Rocket trio showed themselves and were challenged by Tracey. Delia decided to join the effort as well with Mr. Mime (he came over to Oak's lab with Sam and Delia). This is the scene the rest all come upon. As they said when they revealed their plan to the others, they decided to not only try and capture some of the Pokémon that the professor has roaming loose in his enclosure but then once again go for the GS Ball. The unlucky explosion that got them more attention than they were wanting happened due to James' clumsiness in dropping one of their explosives. Upon hitting the grass, it went off though they all somehow made it out from that unscathed.

Ash, Misty, Brock, and Gary rush to join the action and help out the others, but Liz does not move. Instead she stares at everyone battling, and the chaos brings back memories she has tried to suppress since she was a small child. She watched her father's ambush and execution, but he was not going to give up without a fight. The men sent to complete the hit were not about to let him get away, and he perished while she hid away from their view. The last thing he saw was the frightened expression on his daughter's face as the life drained from him. His Pokémon even faced the same fate. The men were cruel and ruthless, and though it may seem as though they did a decent thing letting her live, she often wishes she had died that day, too.

The family that took her in when was not the worst in the world, and they tried to raise her as best they could. She started her Pokémon journey in Johto like many others do the year they turn ten, but she disappeared after she accidentally overheard some Rocket grunts talking about their boss. That brought back memories of men with a red R on their shirts taking her father's life. It was then she knew he was connected to Team Rocket somehow so she did as much research as possible for a ten year old with little real world skills. Granted she did inherit some of her father's smarts, but she was still a child. She needed to find out what really happened. It was at this point that she realized the necklace he left with her contained a very small chip that had much of the information she wanted. It told her the truth of his involvement with Team Rocket and the cause of his death. He knew he was being targeted, even if not by Giovanni himself and wished to leave his daughter with memories as well info that would answer her questions. That is the only reason she wants that GS Ball. Her father died for that project, and the prototype he was killed for eventually led to what Ash brought back from the Orange Islands.

Shaking her head, she clears her mind of those thoughts. What she focuses on now is how everyone is distracted battling against Team Rocket. That means the GS Ball is unprotected. Knowing it will be easy to sneak away, she walks backward a few steps before taking off in a sprint back around to the front. Due to all of the chaos, it is unlikely the door will be locked. Then she can walk right on in and find the ball before slipping out again. After that, she can just disappear the same way she did two years ago from that family who was raising her. Though she was starting to like Ash, she realizes she could never stay here or anywhere really, especially after this. Making sure no one is around, she opens the door to the front of the lab and quickly goes inside.

* * *

From the bushes surrounding the compound, a man and his Persian watch this apparent act of breaking and entering. The confusion in the backyard he can hear, and he immediately knows that Jessie and James are involved. At the same time, he realizes that this is his chance and that he must act quickly before that girl finds what he is certain she is also after. Her father was killed for what he knew, but it was not at his command nor his mother's. Someone else took the liberty of targeting him and getting two high-level grunts to do the job. Giovanni may not be the most moral person (the same can be said of his mother), but neither have gone so far as to injure anyone on purpose let alone take their life. Madame Boss was too busy trying to make money. She led the team well, but she was never about killing dissenters. He would be the same way. It may seem odd that they would be willing to abuse Pokémon, but they avoided death when possible.

For mother and son, it was always about money and control, but if someone were to get hurt or killed along the way, that was that. They never went out of their way to do it, is all. For both it was not about being the next mafia organization. The last one had been disbanded twenty years prior to his birth, and only remnants remained here and there. In the chaos of the time after, his mother started her own gang. Part of their success is because they always make sure not to do anything illegal that would warrant attention. Their more important experiments (Mewtwo and the GS Ball for example) were done in secret. Although unethical to many, there are no laws against cloning Pokémon DNA or developing a whole new species so even if someone had caught wind, the authorities would have had no power to do anything about it.

As everyone is still too busy, they take no notice of him as he also sneaks into the lab, his trusty Persian at his side like always.

* * *

"Give it up, Team Rocket! These aren't your Pokémon!"-Ash

"They'll be ours soon enough, twerp!"-Jessie

"Not if we can help it!"-Tracey. Scyther and Mr. Mime stand at the ready. Brock sends out Geodude, Misty sends out her Staryu, and Ash's Pikachu is already set to battle. Gary follows suit by sending out Eevee. Jessie and James then send out Lickitung and Victreebel, and Jessie kicks Meowth onto the battlefield. Everyone glares at each other, waiting for someone to make the first move. The five Pokémon on each team await their master's commands, but before something happens, Ash notices one of his friends is missing.

"Hey, where's Liz?"

"Ash, focus on the battle!"-Misty. Taking advantage of the break in concentration, Team Rocket decides to take the offense.

"Arbok, poison sting attack!"

"Weezing, use smog!" Before any needles can hit, Mr. Mime uses light screen and creates a barrier to protect everyone.

"Staryu, tackle attack now!" The water star hurls itself at Meowth and makes full contact, sending him flying back. Ash and Gary look at each other, then back to their Pokémon. In unison they order the pair to use quick attack on Lickitung and Victreebel, but Lickitung licks Eevee, leaving him paralyzed.

"Use razor leaf, Victreebel!" James orders. Pikachu manages to dodge the sharp leaves and headbutt him. Meowth makes his comeback by rushing in and trying to use fury swipes, but Brock orders Geodude to use seismic toss to intercept him. The next thing the cat knows, he is slamming into James.

The smog quickly overcomes the yard, and everyone is forced to cover their faces. The Pokémon lose track of their opponents, and Ash does what he did earlier by calling out Pidgeot. A series of wing flaps clears it all away, but Team Rocket is, of course, gone.

"I can't believe we fell for the same thing twice!" Ash yells in anger. "Come on, Pikachu!" He takes off toward the lab, knowing they have gone inside after the GS Ball. Naturally the others follow with Gary right behind and the others in a trail. They run up the stairs, hoping they can get there in time before they are off in their Meowth balloon again.

What they see when they arrive is not anything they were expecting. Jessie and Liz fight for control of the ball as James tries to get in and help. Finally the professor stands in front of everyone and tries to take back control of the situation.

"Knock this off, you two! The GS Ball does not belong to either of you."

"Yeah, well I don't see your name on it, either, old man."-Jessie

"Liz, what are you doing?" Ash finally voices what everyone else who had met her wanted to say.

"I'm taking back what's rightfully mine."

"What do you mean rightfully yours?" Misty interjects. "Professor Ivy found it first." Brock takes to the floor, and a cloud of sadness appears over him.

"Don't mention that name!" Everyone sweatdrops, but Misty smacks him over the head to get him to snap out of it.

"This is no time to be dramatic, Brock!" The professor, however, is not amused by anything.

"What do you mean the GS Ball is rightfully yours?" Still holding onto the ball, she looks at them all.

"My father helped create this ball." A collective gasp is heard, but Jessie refuses to budge. "Before I was born, he was part of a group of Team Rocket scientists who were developing the technology to house the Pokémon from which all others were descended. The leader at the time wanted to capitalize on this super rare Pokémon and make as much money as possible. I believe her mother was even sent to find this creature." Professor Oak glances at Delia for a brief second, but the usually easy to read woman does not have a reaction like he was expecting. No one else catches his glance. She looks at Jessie as do the others. Some of the ones present remember the remark from earlier this day during the news broadcast. Jessie's mom apparently went missing and was presumed dead, leaving her daughter to be raised by who knows who.

"Is that true, Jess?" James asks. Liz interrupts her from answering.

"Of course it's true. I have no reason to lie. My father left Team Rocket when he met my mom, but he was killed when I was only two in order to protect the secret of this ball. He may only have gotten as far as the prototype, but someone in Team Rocket thought he was a threat. The only thing I want now is this ball. I know the leader of Team Rocket will be looking for it, but he doesn't deserve it, especially since it has a Mew inside."

"How do you know about Mew?"-Ash

"You were on TV, remember? As soon as I saw the report, I knew I had to get to know you better."

"So it was a set-up from the beginning."-Misty

"Not quite. At first I did want to battle Ash, but I had something else to take care of first so that's why I lied. Then I saw that broadcast and realized you were my ticket to getting close to the GS Ball without breaking into the lab." The professor once again steps in.

"Well, you can't have the GS Ball. I am very sorry for what your family has been through, but the research that needs to be done on Mew and this ball is too important."

"That's easy for you to say. You didn't lose your mother to a rare disease and then your father to Team Rocket." She yanks at the ball again, and Jessie just lets it go, completely out of character to James and Meowth. The reminder of her past and her mom must really be affecting her, they both note to themselves. Liz looks at the ball in silence for a few seconds before clutching it tighter. "And as for you, Ash Ketchum, I did some digging into your past as well."

"What do you mean?" he demands, his anger about to overflow.

"I never intended on meeting you, Ash, but I have followed you a bit in the news after you did so well as a rookie trainer at Indigo Plateau."

At this point, a certain someone creeps up the stairs to see what is going on. When he and Persian entered, they did not immediately try to ambush Liz. Rather, they were going to catch her on the way down. Then his idiot agents came bursting through the door so the two of them hid. This was followed quickly by everyone else so they stayed in place for the time in order to avoid being found out. The conflict upstairs seems to have turned into conversation so he deems it safe to approach from a distance for now. That ball he cannot let escape again.

"There was something about you that I couldn't explain, but it made me hope you would go far," Liz continues. "I thought it may run in the family, but that end came up empty initially. I was able to find out that your mom was a student of Professor Oak along with Spencer Hale." Ash looks to his mother for confirmation, but it is Samuel who answers him.

"That's right. They were both very good students. I knew they would go far."

"Didn't he become a famous archaeologist?" Tracey asks. "I remember reading about his research on the Unown."

"That he did, Tracey," she interrupts. "So that may lead one to wonder why the other promising pupil never went on to anything else and instead opened up a restaurant in small town."

"Look, I don't care what you have to say! Give us back the GS Ball and leave."-Ash. She smirks and puts the ball behind her back.

"Not so fast, Ashy. I bet neither your mom nor Professor Oak ever told you how she disappeared for almost a year and how Sammy here helped search for any clues that would lead him to find out what happened. You felt so responsible, didn't you, Professor?" The older man looks to the side.

"Of course I did. It was my idea to send her out on that field research project when I knew there was Team Rocket activity in the area. I was foolish." After being silent the whole time and after seeing the way this is tormenting her son and her former mentor, Delia decides she can no longer be silent on this. The girl's intentions she is unsure of just as she is unsure of whether or not a certain secret is on the verge of being revealed. No matter what the case may be, what ever this girl Liz has to say should not come from anyone else but the person who went through it.

"I was the one who was foolish," she finally says. Ash's attention (as well as the others') is once again on his mom. "I should never have tried confronting them." Giovanni stiffens at the mention of their first meeting as the emotions he long tried to bury come back to the surface. Persian rubs against his leg, but it does little good. The hardened man only ever had one weakness, but the moment he realized what that weakness made him into, he forced the walls back up. That does him little good now of all times, he curses. "But I don't regret what I did. It was because of that that I have Ash."

"So you met Dad when Team Rocket kidnapped you?"

"Ah, so he's not as dense as Misty makes him out to be." Misty glares at her while Ash is still trying to figure everything out in his head. "But you're still a little off the mark."

"Why don't you stop playing games already?" Misty demands. "What ever happened in the past is no one's business, especially not yours. If Mrs. Ketchum and Professor Oak wanted to talk about it, they would have."

"You're so protective over the boy you say you're only following for a bike. You know, I may only be a thirteen year old girl, but even I realize there are things adults don't want to talk about. Say, for instance…their involvement with a mafia boss."

"Hey, Team Rocket is not just about organized crime!" James defends his boss and his job.

"That's right! My mother didn't give up everything for a gang like that!"

"Da Boss may be not be the nicest guy in da world, but he's not running a scummy organization of crime. We have goals, ya know!"

"They're all right," Delia says again. "Giovanni wasn't like that. At least…he wasn't when I knew him." This confirms to Liz what she was already starting to suspect on her own. It was all a bunch of hearsay, but not all rumors are lies.

"So I was right."

"What do you mean?"-Ash

"Your father, Ash Ketchum, the one who was supposed to be out on his journey, is the leader of Team Rocket." Everyone there but two people gasp at that statement. She looks down in shame for carrying such a heavy secret and lying to her son and the father he never knew. Professor Oak reaches out to touch her arm in support, but even he cannot help alleviate the emotions this moment brings. Giovanni, who is still in hiding, actually stares with his mouth half open in shock. To him it makes sense why she left so suddenly without a word. Then anger quickly comes in as he realizes his son, his heir to the empire he has been expanding for the last thirteen years, was hidden from him for that whole time. Ash, however, looks hurt, surprised, and a number of other things.

"Mom?" he asks, his voice breaking. Misty moves to be near him, but he practically shoves her off. Liz goes on.

"Your father was off on his own journey, but it was one of world domination."

"It's not true!" he denies fervently. "She wouldn't lie to me!"

"That's right," Brock interrupts, going onto big brother mode. "Why should we believe you over the professor and Mrs. Ketchum?"

"You don't have to take my word for it. Just look at their faces." More unwanted attention befalls them, but Liz decides she's done now. None of this she ever planned on doing, but for some reason, she likes that others are hurting as much as she has been the last two years. "And with that out of the way, I feel I should leave so you can all go to family counseling and resolve these issues." She makes a move to run past them and to the stairs, but a figure emerges and blocks her path.

"You are going nowhere," his voice says evenly despite the emotions running through him. Jessie, James, Meowth, and Delia all look surprised to see him but for different reasons. His left hand remains in his pocket, and Persian stands at the ready. "I believe you have a piece of property that belongs to me, and I would like it back." Liz, who was also not expecting to see him here, backs away a few steps. Gary, since he is the closest, snatches the ball away from her with ease and passes it to his grandfather with a toss. Annoyance flickers across the Rocket leader's face. "Give that to me now."

"I'll get it, Boss," James promises as he tries to flying tackle the older man. Pikachu gives him a quick thunderbolt, leaving him burnt to a crisp.

"You never could do anything right. The only reason I haven't fired you idiots yet is because I still foolishly hope you may turn out like your mother." His gaze is directed at Jessie, of course. "She was the one who was trying to catch the legendary Mew. My mother initially wanted to capture its voice and use it to make money. That was when her mother disappeared. The GS Ball was designed to contain Mew as its powers were too extraordinary to be contained within a regular Pokéball."

"Why did you want Mew then?" Liz asks, her anger overcoming her that the plan is falling apart.

"I don't have to explain myself to you." She glares, but all he dos is smirk. He may as well tell them. The creature is gone now anyway. "I wanted to create the ultimate Pokémon." Almost like old times, Delia finds herself scolding the man.

"Giovanni, how could you?" He ignores her.

"Give me that ball. I've never made it a habit to hurt people myself, but it won't kill me to start now."

The professor stands between a rock and a hard place. He of course does not want to give up the ball to a gang leader, but he sees no viable way of this turning out well. They may have him outnumbered currently, but no one knows if he has any back-up. The last thing he wants is for anyone to be hurt. He would refuse and fight if his safety was the only one on the line, but that is not the case. If Giovanni did hear the revelation, it is obvious it means little to him. Of course, the professor does not realize that it means a great deal, but he can hardly act on that right now. Not only would it be very unbecoming but he would have to acknowledge he has a heart, which he is most unwilling to do. The boy may be his son, but that is in name only. He needs nothing to do with either of them now when he has an organization to run. Hating to do so, the professor reluctantly walks forward, his teeth clenched in frustration. The Rocket boss takes the ball and turns around to leave without further conversation.

The group all lets him except for Liz, but Gary sees this and grabs her arm before she can run.

"You're not going anywhere."

"Let me go, you stupid punk! That jerk is stealing my ball!" While she starts to struggle fruitlessly, Brock watches his younger friend, seeing him clench his fists. Apparently he is as angry as she is. Brock calmly places his hand on Ash's right shoulder.

"Ash, stay here," he says.

"Yeah, Ash, he's not worth it."-Misty

"He isn't, but the GS Ball is. I can't let him take it."

"You should listen to your friends, Ash," his mom interrupts. He looks at her again, but her gaze is not directed at him. "This was never supposed to be your burden. I'm sorry."

Before anyone can say something, Delia takes off in the same direction the Rocket boss left in.

"Mom!" he calls after her. Both Brock and Tracey hold him back, knowing Ash blowing up at the situation will just make things worse for everyone. Samuel wishes to go as well, but he knows this is something his former student has decided she wants to do on her own. This moment she was hoping would never come as she has confided in him in the past. It was hard enough explaining to her mentor the situation those thirteen years ago. The young trainer will get his answer soon enough (and hopefully the GS Ball as well). Right now his mother has something to do of her own.

Liz looks around and tries to think of how to get away, but there are too many obstacles. She clenches her jaw in frustration.

* * *

Meanwhile, out in front of the lab, the Rocket leader heads toward the long flight of stairs that will lead him to the front gates below. What he does not know is that he is being followed by the last person he cares to have a conversation with. Persian can sense this and tugs at his master's pants. Back then when they all were younger, he grew to really like his master's newest companion. Giovanni was the only one to care about him ever since he befriended the cat Pokémon as a young teenager. The two were inseparable, much to his mother's disdain that her son's only friend was a puny Persian.

Then they both met her, and Persian was not the only one she was kind to though more often than not Giovanni did something to anger her. Persian knew just as his master did that she did not approve of what he was trying to do, but they grew fond of her company just as she did of theirs. Persian has missed her, even if his master pretends he feels otherwise himself.

The tugging does not get him to stop. It takes her calling out to him to do the trick, but he does not turn around. She stops a few feet away from the duo.

"So you're just going to walk away."

"I have no more business here. I got what I came for. Besides, you know plenty about running away."

"Gio-"

"Give me back that ball!" a shrill voice interrupts. Giovanni clenches his jaw and turns around though he knows who it is. Before he can see her though, she tackles him by jumping into the air. The girl is puny compared to him, but she throws him off balance just enough to knock the GS Ball from his pocket. It hits the ground and rolls a foot before a red beam appears as the button was pressed upon landing. Mew is then before them.

"Get back here!" another voice comes, which Delia recognizes as her son. Liz and Mew stare at each other as Ash comes to a stop by his mother. The rest all follow from inside the house though Gary's foot hurts from where Liz stomped on it in her successful attempt to get away. Jessie, James, and Meowth stop near their boss. Ash scans the grass for the ball but stops when his gaze ends up on his supposed father, the leader of the group he and his friends have slowly been defeating on accident.

Liz suddenly makes a dive for the ball, but Persian tries to stop her. Mew fires back with a small psybeam, which knocks the cat away. The ball is once again in her possession with its Pokémon apparently on her side. No one else realizes it, even Liz herself, but she and Mew formed a connection just a minute ago. Something about the girl's feelings of loneliness and sadness and anger over her father's betrayal are what Mew feels about having been caught and then trapped for so long. The one who trapped him looked like the girl with large red hair. This Mew was not the one they used to clone Mewtwo, but it is the one Jessie's mother was after. The creature was caught in that one-of-a-kind ball before the avalanche that more than likely took her mother's life covered them both in snow. How it made its way to the Islands remains a mystery, but now this Mew has decided to be friends with this girl, at least for now. Liz realizes this much since Mew just defended her and smiles a bit. She is finally the one in control.

"What do we do now?" Misty asks no one in particular.

"I'll tell you what you do. You let me and Mew leave this place and never try to find us."

"No way! Mew and the GS Ball don't belong to you!"-Ash

"Well, they don't belong to you, either! The one they technically do belong to is a sadistic jerk who would only use Mew for his personal gain. I just want to go back to being a trainer knowing that my father didn't die to help him do that." She looks at Mew and points at Jessie, James, and Meowth. "Send them blasting off, Mew!" Obediently the legendary cat does so with a more powerful psybeam. Since they are used to it, this is not a big deal to anyone (pretty much everyone there minus Giovanni, who could care less, has seen them blasting off before).

Next she looks to the other Rocket members, her plan being similar for them. Persian gets up and stands in front of his master, ready to defend them both.

"Mew, use mega punch!" Persian jumps to the side and uses double team, a move his master taught him long ago. Many Persians surround Mew, which irritates Liz. "Blast them all 'til you find the right one!" The others all realize this means they will potentially be in the blast range but don't have enough time to move before the attacks begin.

With much luck, the third try strikes Persian, leaving the poor cat Pokémon to be the only one injured. This quite obviously makes Giovanni angry, but even the dense Ash can see that this also makes his mother upset. He decides to get involved despite what his better instincts say. His hand goes to his belt, and the ball he detaches he enlarges before throwing out.

"Charizard, I choose you!" The giant fire dragon appears before them and lands with a thud. "Charizard, help Persian! Use your flamethrower on Mew!"

"Dodge it, Mew, then transform and counter with your own flamethrower!"

"Mew!" It nods to her and then looks at Charizard. Its body glows for a few seconds before morphing into a much larger form. The transformation is barely complete before a large breath of fire is shot at Ash's Charizard.

"Fly up out of the way!" Ash commands. With a roar, he takes to the sky and continues to dodge more attacks as Mew continues to try and hit him.

As this unfolds, Giovanni considers whether or not he should retreat for the time. He has no Pokémon of his own to help fight and get back that rare psychic-type as he left them all at the gym. Perhaps one could call him stupid for such an action, but he honestly figured it would be easy to steal the ball back. Persian was the only back-up he thought he would need. He has no intent on giving up the ball as he can track the girl and get it back when she is less prepared than he.

"Persian, let's go," he says quickly. His back is barely turned, though, before Liz takes notice.

"Where do you think you're going?" she yells out angrily. Apparently she has forgotten her statement of just wanting to leave and be a trainer again. Now she seems to want to hurt them instead before making her getaway. "Fire spin, Mew! Trap them in place!" Ash gets ready to order Charizard and Pikachu to help, but his mother commands Mr. Mime before he can do so.

"Mimey, use light screen and protect them!"

"Mr. Mime!" Nodding, Mr. Mime runs as fast as possible and builds walls in front of Giovanni and Persian which repel the fire. Pikachu charges Liz and jumps to bite her hand to get her to drop the ball. She recoils and tries to hit the mouse, but Pikachu moves away too quickly. A flame rivaling Charizard and Mew appears in her eyes as she clenches her fists. They all wait for yet another powerful attack, but she just as suddenly drops her hands to her sides and calls Mew down. Confused, the Pokémon follows its new owner's wishes. Charizard lands next to Ash, and Pikachu returns as well.

"Mew, use one last flamethrower. And aim it directly at them." Ash gets ready to order his Pokémon to attack, but they both do it before can. The large dragon readies a large flamethrower while Pikachu charges up to add a thunder to make one large, strong blast. They all brace themselves for impact, including Mr. Mime who runs back to protect his trainer and her friends. Giovanni looks ahead but is directed by Persian to look at the ground in between him and Liz. The GS Ball lies there unprotected, and it looks like the girl does not care about getting it back. He slowly inches towards it.

At the same time, Liz says something else to Mew that no one can hear. The Pokémon all ready their attacks to release, and she puts her hand on Mew's back. Ash realizes instantly what she is going to do and takes off. Misty and Delia both yell at him to stop, but he does not listen. Mew is known to make itself invisible and teleport away, and Liz is going with it. Charizard and Pikachu's charged flame collides with the other flamethrower, and everything goes red and orange as smokes fills the area. The others cover their faces and hope for Ash's safety when everything is clear again.

Brock calls out Zubat to help aid this, but it is a slow process due to its small wing size and inability to create gusts the size Pidgeot can. When it is clear enough, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu run to where Ash was when the blasts collided. Professor Oak puts his hands on Delia's shoulder as she did not go with Misty and Pikachu. The thought of something seriously happening to her only son is too much. The two friends look as best they can, but it is only when the smoke is clear that they can tell Ash, Mew, and Liz are all gone. All that remains on the ground is Ash's league hat. He has never left his prized possession behind no matter the danger or what he had to do to retrieve it. Their immediate thoughts are that something bad has happened to them all due to the blast, but no one wants to accept it of course.

"They're gone…" Tracey says slowly. That phrase finally causes Delia to lose it. Professor Oak does his best to comfort her, but it is to no avail. Misty tries her hardest not to follow suit, and Pikachu starts sniffing the ground where the hat is. He cannot even find a trail, almost like they just disappeared into thin air. The blast must have been too much. Giovanni and Persian were still protected by Mr. Mime's left over light screen, and Mr. Mime protected the others as well. Ash, Liz, and Mew were all left unguarded. No one wants to believe it, but there seems to be no other explanation.

"They're not dead, you fools," Giovanni interrupts. Everyone looks at him expectantly and with hope. "They teleported away with Mew. The girl was trying to escape, but he wasn't going to let her. He obviously went with them."

"So Ash is out there somewhere," Misty exclaims happily. The others do not show the same feeling, but they all have it, especially his mother. "We need to start looking for him."

"That would not only be impractical but a waste of time. Don't you think that that Mew has been all around the world? It could have hopped half way across the planet and ended up in some forest. That pathetic boy would not survive two days alone, especially if his Pokémon are as weak as that Charizard and Pikachu."

"Pika!" He tightens his little fists as sparks fly from his cheeks. Charizard also readies a flame attack, but he ignores them. The youngest Sensational Sister speaks again, interrupting their attacks.

"But you're the leader of Team Rocket. You have lots of resources. You could help us look-"

"I am not wasting my time and money on some twelve-year old pest."

"But he's your son!"-Brock. He turns around to walk away.

"She made the choice to exclude me from their lives. I have no reason to get involved now."

"But what about the GS Ball at least?"-Tracey

"I have no more need for it. I have bigger plans to concern myself with. Come, Persian."

And with that, the Viridian City gym leader and head of Team Rocket walks away from the group for the final time this day and, hopefully for him, the final time period. Persian glances back at Delia, but his loyalty is solely to Giovanni. He keeps pace with his master. Gio's right hand slips into his pocket, and he lightly touches a round object hidden there.

As his back is turned, he allows himself to smirk ever so slightly. He does have new plans indeed…

*Flashback to just a minute ago*

**_Giovanni looks to Persian and then the GS Ball. Just before the three Pokémon unleash their attacks, he goes to pick it up. The attacks start hurling at one another, and he immediately holds the ball in the direction of Mew, who is in contact with Liz. Just as he points it towards the Pokémon to recall it, Ash jumps at Liz and lands on Mew. The red beam hits the false Charizard, who turns into energy. Surprising the two human children and the Rocket leader, they turn to energy as well and disappear along with Mew into the GS Ball. Giovanni stares at the ball, unsure of what just happened. Normal Pokéballs are not supposed to do that to humans. The only time it has been seen, albeit not by Gio, was the ancient artifacts of Pokémopolis Eve theorized to be primitive capture devices._**

**_The blasts hit, snapping him out of it. The slow motion incident is over as things to start to move in real time again. He puts the ball in his pocket and covers his face while Persian drops to the ground and covers his head with his paws. Just as explosive as the attacks, an idea then occurs to him about his son. It is a chance to start anew with the boy he never knew existed until fifteen minutes ago. Behind his hands, he smirks._**

* * *

End of _GS Distress_

And that's that...at least, for now. Everything will be explained in the next story. Sorry if it seems abrupt, but that is honestly the best way to end it without it getting wordy and boring. At least this leaves suspense, I think. The GS Ball's origins, having never been explained in the anime, aren't technically against canon, but it's still a stretch, I know. Its ability to capture people was inspired by those artifacts Eve found in that Pokemopolis episode in the first season. I figure great scientists working for a woman and her son with malicious intentions could come up with something like that. If ancient people could, then why not?

Onto some technical business...

I don't remember where the inspiration for Ash's dad as Giovanni came from, but it was in 2000 before the live stage show they did here in America. My friend and I made this story up during our newspaper class in 8th grade, and we just ran with that concept. Plus I like the Star Wars-ness of it.

Possible Question: What is the basis for Mew's attacks?

Answer: The Mew I own on Pokémon Red that I got at Toys R Us 10 years ago. Plus Mew can learn any move in the games and probably the anime so even if I did not base it on something, it is still not farfetched to believe.

Possible Question 2: Later in the story, why is Mew able to come out so easily?

Answer: Jessie, because of her link to the ball via her mother, was able to open it on accident during the scuffle with Ash. From then on, as long as the button gets pressed, it will open. Mew, however, cannot come out on its own. Miyamoto locked the ball by virtue of its design when she first used it. Only someone with her DNA could release that lock, which is how Jessie was able to do it. Ideally it was supposed to only be that same person, but the technology was faulty. It was able to sense the relation, and out popped Mew.

Review if you like. Until the next installment, peace out.


End file.
